The Most Important Mass Torts in 2018

When defective products are released into the market, there’s a strong chance they’re going to hurt or injure more than one person. Sometimes, they can affect large numbers of people. A mass tort lawsuit will represent the group of people affected by this product.

If you or a loved one has been injured because of a defective product, you may not be the only one. Bey and Associates, LLC focuses on serving citizens of Georgia. An Atlanta personal injury lawyer can help you get the compensation you need.

How Is a Mass Tort Case Different from Others?

Mass torts differ from other cases. Three main characteristics that set mass tort litigation apart from other cases are:

• Claim Size. A mass tort case will have a large number of claims against a specific product.
• Similar Facts. Many of the cases will probably have the same or similar facts. Examples include similar health problems with a medical device or side effects of a drug.
• Structure. In mass tort litigation, those who were injured can be represented by attorneys in individual cases. Attorneys working on the case can share resources and they can use that knowledge or information for their client’s benefit.

What Are the Upcoming Mass Tort Cases?

Many upcoming mass torts involve drugs. When drugs are defective or have unknown side effects, the people taking them can suffer from serious side effects or die. Taking the drug companies to court holds them accountable for failing to inform the public of their drug’s side effects or cutting corners to push the drug on to the market faster. Some drugs that are the subject of mass tort cases in 2018 are:

• Xarelto. This blood thinning drug has caused patients to have adverse side effects of internal bleeding. They claim that drug manufacturers should have disclosed this information about the side effect to them and to the medical community.
• Risperdal. This antipsychotic drug is used to treat people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and in some cases it’s used to treat autism. People coming forward claim that a connection between Risperdal and gynecomastia, an increase in male breast tissue size, was not disclosed by the drug manufacturers to patients.
• Opioids. The country has an opioid epidemic. Many people are addicted to opioids and the drug addition has led to many fatalities. The addictions may have started from opioid prescriptions. People took their prescribed medication, but developed an addiction once it ran out and had to turn to other drugs to replace the opioids. Those coming forward claim that drug companies for pushing large amounts of pills into small towns and failing warn against the high addiction rate. Some opioid labels may have failed to accurately inform how long the drug remains in effect.
• Pradaxa. Pradaxa is a blood thinning drug and patients have experienced terrible side effects of bleeding events and are at higher risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. Many people have come forward with similar experiences of major bleeding events and claim that the drug manufacturer didn’t provide warning about the possible bleeding side effects.

When drug companies are held responsible for their actions, it may change how they proceed with drugs in the future. They could change their methods and this could possibly save people from pain and suffering.